Best Hotel Feature Goes to...

Four private screening rooms want to compete with your sightseeing plans this Oscar season

ENLARGE

Divya for The Wall Street Journal

Feb. 15, 2013 5:01 p.m. ET

Academy Awards season is upon us! WSJ contributor Elizabeth Gunnison joins Lunch Break with a look some hotels with plush screening rooms where you can buff up on Oscar winners from the past-or watch one of this year's nominees in style. Photo: Getty Images.

IT COULD HAVE been a library, a gift shop or a billiards room. But when Starwood Hotels set out to design the new W Hotel in London's Leicester Square, the chain chose to devote 900 square feet of prime ground-floor real estate to a screening room.

Private cinemas have flourished as a premium amenity at luxury properties from Beijing to New York. London, in particular, is teeming with theaters secreted away in hotels, from the W's compact 39-seat offering to the sumptuous media room at 45 Park Lane, which comes with a private dining menu designed by Wolfgang Puck.

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Although these viewing rooms are primarily intended for private hire by both individuals and corporations, some hotels have begun using them to host their own screening events, typically open to hotel guests as well as the general public. With the Academy Awards season upon us, here are some hotels where you can buff up on Oscar winners from the past—or watch one of this year's nominees in a style worthy of its own gleaming statue.

—Elizabeth Gunnison

Cinema Paradiso:

Carlisle Bay, Antigua

This Caribbean resort's screening room shows recent releases and classics year-round on Friday and Saturday evenings. Hotel guests and locals can sink into one of 45 Italian-designed, midnight-blue leather seats and feast on refreshments inspired by the film at hand, such as homemade truffles and aged rum served with the movie "Chocolat." In a month-long walk-up to the Academy Awards, the hotel has been screening films featuring nominees in the best actress, best actor and best director categories. The Oscar-night party will include a live airing of the awards. Screenings free and open to all; campbellgrayhotels.com

Film Fest Favorite:

TriBeCa Grand Hotel, New York

Though a favorite venue for film premieres, this 100-seat theater also hosts programming that's open to all comers free of charge. The Sunday lineups begin with daytime screenings for children, followed by an evening program targeting adults. Offerings range from cult television shows like "True Blood" and "Mad Men" to feature films such as "La Dolce Vita" and "North by Northwest." The hotel provides homemade buttered popcorn and snugly blankets. The cinema is in the middle of a month-long festival of Best Picture winners from previous years and will air the awards live on Feb. 24. Screenings free and open to all; tribecagrand.com

Living-Room Theater:

The Public, Chicago

This walnut-paneled screening room seats up to 40 and is filled with sofas and silk cushions. Most Wednesday evenings, the hotel screens a classic or new release. Foods and beverages that play off the feature's theme are available for purchase from the hotel's in-house Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant, the Pump Room. This month, the room is hosting screenings of feature films up for Academy Awards. Screenings free and open to all; publichotels.com

Weekend Clubhouse:

The Soho Hotel, London

One of boutique hotel brand Firmdale's four properties featuring screening rooms, the Soho Hotel is the only one that boasts two theaters. Both the 100- and 45-seat rooms feature Poltrona Frau leather armchairs; some of the seats in the smaller cinema are upholstered in a cowhide motif. The Sunday Film Club meets on Sundays; afternoon tea or a three-course lunch or dinner at the hotel restaurant Refuel is followed by a current release. Upcoming offerings include Oscar nominees "Life of Pi" and "Les Misérables." Screenings open to all; $54 covers the movie and meal; firmdalehotels.com

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